A Twisted Tale of Virus and Thimerosal

[Guest guest]

A Twisted Tale of Virus and Thimerosal

I have been researching and working with inflammatory pathways in the

body since my doctoral work at Albany Medical College. I have always

felt that it is critical to understand why something is happening in

order to make informed choices directed at correcting the imbalance,

and to share that knowledge in an effort to help the affected

individuals on their path to healing. It is my belief that the more

one understands the pathogenesis that leads to a particular

condition, the easier it is to ascertain effective strategies to

truly resolve the problem rather than simply eliminating symptoms.

This is especially true for autism/developmental/speech delay where

every child is so unique. " Autism " is a broad category which, for the

most part, is based on developmental and behavioral characteristics.

Within this broad category are children with a great diversity of

biochemical imbalances. In most cases it is incumbent upon the parent

to make individualized decisions about their own child's welfare. The

better these parents understand the causes and the processes that

underlie the conditions we call autism, the easier it is for them to

make informed choices for their child's individual needs.

I have written at length about the role of excitotoxins in the

pathogenesis of autism.1 A subsequent paper by the world expert on

excitotoxins, Dr. Blaylock, has substantiated this work.2

These papers illustrate that glutamate and excitotoxins are key

factors in the observed behaviors and pathology of autism. However,

excitotoxins are not the cause of autism, even if they are a crucial

part of the pathway by which the condition progresses. In my

continuing effort to understand the pathway that leads to autism, I

have reason to believe that a condition of chronic viral infection

exists involving all three of the viruses in the MMR vaccine. The

chronic measles, mumps and rubella in these children can account for

many of their symptoms. I have observed the impact of each of these

viruses in these children and have found them to result in imbalances

in one or more organ systems. Furthermore, it is my belief that the

preservative thimerosal helps to create this problem of chronic viral

infections of many childhood illness

(Roseola/varicella/coxsackie/herpes). Thimerosal may play an even

more insidious role in the development of autism beyond its role in

potential mercury toxicity.

The Role of Thimerosal

The toxic effects of mercury have been well characterized and

documented. Many of the symptoms seen in autism resemble aspects of

mercury toxicity. It has been assumed that thimerosal breaks down

into ethylmercury in the body, and the released ethyl mercury causes

the toxicity problems in the body. In experimental studies,

thimerosal has been used as a thiol titration reagent. This would

suggest, that at least experimentally, thimerosal can break down in

such a way as to expose the thiol group.3 A further argument posed

for the breakdown of thimerosal is that ethylmercury is known to have

a high affinity for sulfhydryl groups and will exchange readily to

bind to available sulfhydryl groups.5 Yet the chemical structure of

thimerosal is such that the ethylmercury group is covalently bound to

sulfhydryl groups; at least partially satisfying this affinity for

sulfhydryl groups.

Neither of these points address the actual issue of the degradation

of thimerosal in the body. A report from the National Toxicology

Program clearly states that the rate of physiological degradation of

thimerosal has not been addressed. The report goes on to say

that " there is no information which proves the extent to which

thimerosal is metabolized following administration to animals or

humans. " 4

I do believe that thimerosal can break down in the body to yield

ethylmercury and cause the toxic consequences that occur as a result

of this release. However, I think that it is possible that some

portion of the thimerosal may not breakdown completely to ethyl

mercury. The thimerosal can assume at least two other, potentially

more dangerous structural conformations. Based on my extensive work

in molecular biology and DNA and RNA synthesis, I can see where it is

possible for thimerosal to mimic the actual building blocks for DNA

or RNA synthesis in the body. These " thimerosal building blocks "

would contain the mercury molecule. This has the potential to create

a condition where the mercury is stably integrated into the nucleic

acids, DNA or RNA.

The use of modified DNA or RNA bases (building blocks) for

incorporation into full-length nucleic acids is a well-known and very

routine technique in molecular biology. A wide variety of modified

DNA or RNA bases are used for analytical, diagnostic, and therapeutic

purposes. Many of the compounds that are used as antiviral agents or

anticancer compounds are modified nucleic acid bases.6,7 The reason

for using these modified bases as therapeutic agents is that they

incorporate into the natural growing RNA or DNA in the body, but then

they inhibit the continuation of this growth process. In other words,

the incorporation of modified bases can create a scenario where the

RNA or DNA becomes " stuck " at a given point, with the modified base

stably incorporated into the structure.

As early as the 1970's it was shown that mercurated nucleotides (DNA

or RNA bases) were incorporated normally into growing DNA strands.

Furthermore, these mercurated derivatives were able to interact with

enzymes in the body in an analogous fashion to unmodified bases.8 The

use of mercurated derivatives of DNA and RNA is still in use today.9

There are two types of DNA and RNA bases, purines and pyrimidines.

Thimerosal is able to form structures that can mimic both purines and

pyrimidines:

Compounds that mimic pyrimidines are known as pyrimidine antagonists.

These modified bases are capable of binding to enzymes in the body,

in addition to their ability to be incorporated into nucleic acids in

the body. One of the key enzymes that is a target for current drug

therapy is the thymidylate synthetase (TS) enzyme.10 Strategies to

inhibit this enzyme use modified pyrimidine bases to bind and

inactivate the enzyme. The modified base binds to the enzyme and the

enzyme gets " stuck " , and therefore its activity is inhibited. This

key enzyme, which is already a target in current modified nucleotide

drug therapy, is part of the methylation pathway. Inhibition of this

enzyme would result in abnormalities in methylation.

Compounds that mimic purines are known as purine antagonists. These

compounds can inhibit the enzyme HGPRT (hypoxanthine guanine

phosphoribosyl transferase).11 Inhibition of this enzyme can result

in elevated levels of hypoxanthine, uric acid, and an increase in

purine nucleotide synthesis. Severe deficiency of HGPRT is associated

with a large number of neurological abnormalities including

aggressive and destructive behavior, self-mutilation, and spasticity.

Over production of purine nucleotides has been associated with

autism.12 Abnormalities in uric acid and hypoxanthine levels are also

often seen in autistic children.

To summarize at this point, I believe that it is possible that

thimerosal does not break down completely to ethyl mercury. There is

not sufficient evidence at this time to prove that this degradation

process goes to completion in the body. This is true for any

thimerosal that is used in conjunction with the MMR vaccine, as well

as any thimerosal from other vaccines that has remained intact and

has not been eliminated from the body. As a result, it is possible

that thimerosal can mimic natural nucleic acid bases in the body.

These mercurated nucleic acid bases can then be incorporated into DNA

or RNA, or can interact with the TS enzyme, or with the HGPRT enzyme.

If the former occurs, one would expect a situation where mercury is

stably bound within the body and difficult to remove. If the later

occurs one would expect that there would be imbalances in methylation

and purine metabolism. Most likely both of these situations exist,

and we see evidence of both of these mechanisms at work in autism.

The Viral/Thimerosal Connection

The particular combination of viruses that are used in the MMR

vaccine are unique in that all three are single stranded RNA viruses.

Measles and mumps are negative stranded RNA retroviruses and rubella

is a positive stranded RNA virus. Human cells do not contain enzymes

for copying their own RNA. As a result, the viruses bring in their

own enzymes with them in order to initiate replication once they have

infected a cell. The virus diverts the host's (the human cells)

resources for replication of more virus. One of the key components

used by the virus for replication are the nucleic acid bases that are

needed to produce more viral RNA. Once viral replication begins using

the enzyme that the virus has brought in with it, along with host

resources, many copies of the viral RNA are made. Required viral

proteins are then made; the virus is assembled and packaged.

During this process the virus inhibits host cell functions. This

serves the dual purpose of allowing the virus to commandeer the host

machinery for its own purposes as well as to ensure that the host

cell will die and release all the newly formed viral particles. The

newly released viral particles are then free to infect additional

cells. However, what happens if the viral particles are not released?

The virus remains intracellular and the result is chronic viral

infection. In the case of the MMR vaccine and thimerosal, we have a

potential situation where some of the nucleic acid bases that are

used by the virus to make more viral RNA would contain thimerosal

acting as a mimic for a nucleic acid base. In addition any thimerosal

from other vaccines that has remained intact and has not been

eliminated from the body could be used in a similar fashion.

These growing viral RNAs could then get stuck at various points of

their replication. Rather than completing the normal viral life

cycle, the result would be a chronic viral infection with thimerosal

stably bound within viral RNA that is inside host cells.

Retroviruses like measles or mumps also have the ability to copy

their viral RNA into DNA. This DNA copy of the viral RNA is then

stabily inserted into the host DNA. As already mentioned, rubella

differs from the other two vaccine viruses in that it is a positive

stranded RNA virus. However, in the presence of retroviruses,

variants of the rubella virus have occurred such that the RNA genome

of the virus can also be converted into DNA. This DNA is then stably

integrated into the DNA of the host cell, analogous to the situation

for mumps and measles. If thimerosal is acting to mimic a nucleic

acid base it would create a situation of viral persistence as well as

the stable incorporation of the mercury into the host DNA.

Purine and pyrimidine mimics are widely used and have a history of

demonstrated efficacy as antiviral agents against active, established

viral infections.6,7 Thimerosal has also been shown to have antiviral

activity.13 The reason that thimerosal is used in vaccines is for the

precise purpose of acting as an antimicrobial preservative (growth

inhibitor for microbes-bacteria, viruses, fungi). This indicates that

the molecule can inhibit viral growth by some mechanism. I suggest

that the mode of action of thimerosal is nucleotide mimicry or

enzymatic inhibition, substantiating the hypothesis presented here.

The use of purine and pyrimidine mimics against active, established

viral infection is very different than the circumstance that occurs

during vaccination with MMR/thimerosal.14 Vaccination with live virus

is designed to trigger viral replication. However, the simultaneous

presence of an inhibitor of viral replication is a dangerous

proposition. In a circumstance where you are concurrently triggering

and inhibiting viral replication, it will be up to the immune status

of the individual host, as to which will actually occur.38 This can

create a unique problem for children who are compromised in their

ability to rapidly eliminate heavy metals, such as the preservative

thimerosal. If the thimerosal is not quickly excreted, it will remain

in the system long enough to serve as a nucleotide mimic, making the

child susceptible to chronic viral infection. This is true for any

thimerosal that is used in conjunction with the MMR vaccine, as well

as any thimerosal from other vaccines that has remained intact, or

any other mercury that has accumulated and has not been eliminated

from the body.

Removal of Mercury

If the scenario described above is operating with respect to

thimerosal, it would help to explain the difficulty in removing

mercury from autistic children. It would be necessary to trigger the

elimination of chronic virus in order to fully eradicate thimerosal

from the body. There are a number of agents that are currently

utilized for chelation of heavy metals. These include DMSA, EDTA,

glutathione, alpha lipoic acid37, and garlic. Each of these agents

also has antiviral capabilities. Garlic is well known as an

antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial nutritional supplement.

Glutathione is one of the body's most important defense mechanisms

against viruses. In fact, in the case of HIV infection, a major

determinant in preventing active AIDS infection is the individuals'

glutathione level. There are examples in the literature of EDTA

eliciting virus from cells, and I have personally documented this in

my own practice.15 DMSA, which is widely held as solely a mercury

chelator, has been described to have antiviral activity; more

specifically anti-retroviral activity.16,17 It is possible, and based

on my own observations, I consider it probable that these chelating

agents act to both chelate mercury as well as to trigger chronic

virus containing thimerosal from the body. I believe that the " detox

rash " that most parents of autistic children are familiar with, may

actually be in part a viral rash, as chronic virus is eliminated from

the body.

The Viruses Themselves

I believe that each of the viruses of the MMR vaccine sets

up " housekeeping " in a chronic fashion in different organs in the

body. As one triggers viral elimination, it is possible to see

differential effects on the various organs.

I agree with Dr. Wakefield that the measles portion of the vaccine

tends to create a chronic viral infection that " sets up housekeeping "

in the intestinal tract. I feel that it is the measles portion of the

vaccine that also creates many of the visual problems or stims that

are seen in autistic behavior. As measles virus is presumably

eliminated from autistic children, one sees an improvement in the

gut, bowel movements and a lessening of eye stims. In my practice, I

also work with a number of individuals with Crohn's disease and

ulcerative colitis. I have found that one can eliminate the symptoms

of the disease without active elimination of virus. The key to

eliminating symptoms in these individuals appears to be the use of

supplements that reduce the inflammatory mediators TNF alpha, and

also help to restore a normal TH1/TH2 balance in the immune system.

While this strategy is useful in helping the isolated gut symptoms in

autism, it is preferable to eliminate virus due to the more severe

effects of chronic measles infection in these children.

The nature and magnitude of the effects of chronic measles infection

can be exemplified by the disease known as subacute sclerosing

panencephalitis (SSPE). SSPE is a chronic measles infection that

occurs more frequently in boys than in girls. While the

manifestations of SSPE occur 6-8 years after measles infection, the

early stages of SSPE have a striking similarity to the onset of

autism. The onset includes " progressive behavioral and intellectual

deterioration that can include psychological difficulties,

personality changes, declining school performance, impaired memory,

altered judgement and motor coordination. " Later manifestations of

this chronic disease include seizure activity, ocular abnormalities,

ataxia, dyskinesia, neurological deficits, visual and speech

impairment, and mutism.18 Fortunately, the similarities between

autism and SSPE end there, as SSPE is ultimately a fatal disease.

In addition to the measles infection that has been well characterized

by Wakefield, it is my belief that these children have problems with

chronic viral infections from each of the other viruses in the MMR-

mumps and rubella.

I believe that rubella tends to specifically affect the pancreas,

or " set up housekeeping " in the pancreas. The results of this chronic

viral infection of the pancreas potentially include sugar regulation

imbalances, decreased levels of vitamin K and decreased secretion of

a variety of pancreatic enzymes. Decreased release of gastric

inhibitory peptide from the pancreas can lead to acid excess in the

gut and the consequent yeast/bacterial issues. The enzyme GAD

(glutamic acid decarboxylase) is also synthesized in the pancreas and

is crucial for the regulation of glutamate and GABA. The critical

importance of the balance between glutamate and GABA has been written

about at length, both by Dr. Blaylock and myself.1,2 These papers

also discuss the central role of excess glutamate and lack of GABA in

the development of autistic spectrum disorders. The recent finding

that copper suppresses GABA ties together pancreatic damage to

disruptions in copper/zinc ratios in the body.36

CCK is yet another product of the pancreas. Decreased levels of CCK

in the brain are related to " idiopathic environmental intolerance " .19

This is a psychological disorder that is characterized by impairment

of normal social and vocational functioning and is also correlated

with anxiety and panic. This condition is reminiscent of some of the

socialization issues seen in children with autistic type behavior.

Decreased release of secretin from the pancreas has been postulated

to be involved with speech difficulties. Secretin that is released by

Purkinje cells in the brain may regulate cells nearby to produce

GABA. In addition, secretin appears to activate neurons in the

amygdala, an area of the brain that integrates social and emotional

stimuli.20

The effects of singular rubella vaccination are exemplified by some

of the cases I have seen in my practice. I work with an individual in

her early forties who received rubella as a separate vaccine when it

was available in 1969. She developed type I diabetes following the

rubella vaccine at the age of 8; she was not born with type I

diabetes. It is known that type I diabetes causes damage in the

pancreas, abnormal sugar regulation and destruction of the GAD enzyme

in the pancreas that converts glutamate to GABA. This clinical

picture is reminiscent of some of the imbalances one sees in autism.

There is yet another case of a 41-year-old individual who was

vaccinated with the rubella portion of the vaccine in the early

seventies. She developed mild anxiety/panic disorder following

vaccination. Excessive anxiety and panic disorder can be related to

GABA imbalances and sugar imbalances.21 This same individual was re-

vaccinated for rubella after the birth of each of her four children.

Shortly after the last vaccination, this woman has displayed severe

hypoglycemia, tendency to seizures, acute panic and anxiety disorder

to the point of agoraphobia. This condition has persisted for the

past 7 years. One can see the potential influence of singular chronic

viral infections when looking at cases of individual vaccination.

I believe that the mumps virus " sets up housekeeping " in the regions

of the body that affect hormonal balance- the testes or the ovaries.

Severe mumps infection is known to result in orchitis and oophritis.

For the past year I have been looking at the relationship between

hormone levels and autistic type behavior in both males and females.

As a result of this work I have found significant hormonal

imbalances. These imbalances are not always of the same pattern or

nature. This would be expected, as all children deemed " autistic " do

not necessarily exhibit the same biochemical imbalances.

Some of the male children I work with appear to be completely devoid

of testosterone. Others are completely devoid of DHEA. On the other

hand, some have testosterone levels that are in the normal and even

high range, yet their lutenizing hormone levels are still exceedingly

high. Some of these hormonal irregularities can be balanced with the

use of supplements that support hormone levels. Following a program

to support viral elimination from the body, the need for these

supplements is decreased or eliminated.

These major imbalances in hormone levels may be the crux of the

problem in terms of the " age related myth " concerning autism. The

myth I am referring to is the common notion that you have to catch

and reverse autism by the age of 5, otherwise it is impossible to

reverse. This age constraint puts additional pressure on parents of

autistic children, who are already feeling crushed under the weight

of emotional, time and financial pressure. In my practice, I have not

found that age is a factor in working with autism. The discrepancy

between actual hormone levels and required hormone levels becomes

greater as the child ages. As a result, the problems associated with

lack of appropriate hormones are exacerbated with increasing age. If

one addresses the hormone imbalances then the age of the child is no

longer a factor in working with autism. One of the adolescents that I

have been working with for the past year and a half is now 17.

Recently his math teacher wrote a problem on the blackboard and

offered $5.00 to whomever finished it first. Within 15 minutes this

individual finished the problem correctly. Later, the teacher

confided to the mother that he had made the monetary offer, but had

not expected anyone to solve the problem. The teacher needed half an

hour to figure out the answer for himself, while this adolescent had

the answer in half the time!

Symptoms of severe mumps infection also include the inability to feel

pain. Based on the lack of hormones and hormonal imbalances, it is

possible that chronic mumps infection also suppresses emotions as

well as suppressing pain. Consistent with this hypothesis is the

finding that during the course of viral elimination one sees mood

swings that would represent an ability to recognize and respond

emotionally.

I believe that in some cases the mumps infection is severe enough to

cause damage or chronic infection of the parotids. It is expected

that triggering viral elimination in these cases will result in

language improvement in children with limited language abilities.

In addition to the difficulties encountered with specific viruses,

there are also the general consequences of chronic viral infection on

the body. Many viruses have been documented to trigger the synthesis

of host metallothionein proteins.22,23,24 While the short-term effect

of this would be expected to be beneficial, the long-term effect

could be the depletion of MT proteins in the body. It would be

difficult to replenish these proteins once they are depleted due to

the overall lack of sulfur seen in many of these children. In

addition, it is possible that these MT proteins that are triggered in

response to viral infection are able to bind the heavy metals in the

body. However, unlike MT proteins that are made in response to

cellular signals, these viral tiggered MT act to sequester the metals

inside the cell. It is important to remember that viruses are

parasites, they are not free living organisms. It is in the best

interest of the virus to keep " the host " , in this case the child,

immunocompromised so that the virus continues to have a home. If the

virus is able to aid in trapping heavy metals inside the cells, it

would certainly help to keep the host immunocompromised. Chronic

viral infection would also have the consequence of continually

activating the immune system. This could result in a depletion of key

regulatory mediators of the immune system as well as a chronic

inflammatory condition. This chronic inflammatory condition would

lead directly into the excitotoxin situation that I have previously

written about at length.1

Why Not Everyone?

I feel that any explanation for autism should address the issue of

why everyone who is vaccinated does not become autistic. This has

been one of the arguments regarding the involvement of the MMR

vaccine and thimerosal in autism. I believe that there are certain

predisposing factors that cause a particular child to be susceptible

to autism following vaccination with the MMR vaccine. These

predisposing factors include high glutamate levels, liver

dysfunction, certain blood types, a family history of alcoholism,

liver problems or neurological inflammation, heavy metal levels of

the mother, and underlying chronic viral or bacterial infections of

the mother, among others.1 I believe a key factor is an underlying

streptococcal infection. Virtually all of the children that I work

with have had incidents of ear infections or streptococcal infections

early in childhood. There is evidence that individuals with certain

blood types or with a particular genetic makeup are more susceptible

to streptococcal infection.1,25 This may explain some of

the " selectivity " seen with respect to autism.

I believe that it is likely that the streptococcus permanently

resides as part of the bacteria or flora in the nasopharyngeal cavity

of these children who are highly susceptible to streptococci. The

mucous system in our nasal passages flushes bacteria and viruses into

our stomach. It is easy to see how under " compromised conditions " ,

streptococci could survive the stomach and make its way to the

intestinal tract. Gastric reflux has been implicated as a factor in

ear infections.26 It is not surprising then, to note that in addition

to its role in ear infections and strep throat, streptococcus has

been implicated in leaky gut.27

Gut flora changes play a major role in causing the increased

intestinal membrane permeability that is seen with leaky gut.

Depletion of glutathione is a common occurrence in leaky gut.

Streptococcal infection, or the presence of chronic or recent

infection, depletes glutathione levels.28 High glutamate levels also

result in the depletion of glutathione.29 Streptococcal infection is

also more likely to be an issue in individuals with high glutamate

levels, as glutamate is related to virulence in streptococci.

Streptococcus flourishes in a high glutamate, low glutathione

environment.30,31 Thus, the combined effects of changes in gut flora

and depleted glutathione lay the groundwork for leaky gut.

Streptococci have the ability to behave as opportunistic organisms

and reside in the body as a part of the normal flora, waiting for an

opportune moment to cause active infection. I work with several women

in my practice who get strep throat every month coinciding with their

menstrual cycle. This is not surprising considering that both

glutathione levels and glutamate levels are affected by estrogen.

While glutathione levels hit their monthly low just before

menstruation, glutamate levels are increased in response to

estrogen.32,33

Streptococcus synthesizes a number of proteins to aid in its

virulence. These proteins encompass several toxins that increase its

virulence, including a toxin that resembles the zinc metalloprotease.

This toxin binds zinc and can lead to zinc imbalances.34 As

previously mentioned, streptococcus helps to deplete glutathione

levels. It has been found that mercury elimination is partially

dependent on glutathione. Furthermore, it has been suggested that

glutathione may play a role in metallothionein synthesis.35

Metallothioneins are the proteins involved in binding heavy metals in

the body. Consequently, streptococcal infection creates a situation

that depletes the body of proteins involved in viral defense and

heavy metal elimination and predisposes an individual to leaky gut.

Combined, this would create an environment where it would be

difficult for the child to quickly eliminate thimerosal. Given this

environment, the MMR vaccine potentially causes the most damage. If

the hypothesis presented here is correct, it is essential for a child

to be able to rapidly eliminate thimerosal before it has a chance to

become stably incorporated in viral nucleic acids, to interact with

crucial enzymes, or to become trapped within the cells. Inoculation

with viruses that have the ability to create chronic infection can

create havoc in an infant who is particularly susceptible due to

underlying streptococcal infection, or any number of other

predisposing factors.

One child that I work with had an especially severe streptococcal

infection from birth. The infection was so deeply rooted that surgery

was necessary to remove a streptococcal abscess from the shoulder

bone. This child has severe issues with aggressive behavior and

anxiety. He is extremely bright yet is severely delayed in reading

ability. His body is unable to handle heavy metals as evidenced by

urine, stool and hair metal analysis. Many of his biochemical

parameters are abnormal. This child is not autistic and has no

delayed language or issues with eye contact or social interactions.

This child was never vaccinated.

An Approach to Healing

As already discussed, one of my goals is to share my knowledge,

observations and experience so that others might have the tools they

need to help heal their own children. I believe that knowledge is

power, and the more you know the more power you have over your

condition. I have found that " autism " is a general catchall phase,

and children with very different biochemical imbalances are thrust

together in this category. Therefore, while there are some universal

generalities, the specific plan of treatment depends on the specific

needs of each individual child. It is for this reason that I spend up

to an hour a week with many parents when we first begin the journey

of attempting to halt the progression of autism.

I have not yet reached a ceiling with any of the other types of

neurological cases that I work with (ALS, SLE, Parkinson's, MS,

Myasthenia gravis) and I do not anticipate a ceiling for autism. What

I mean by this is that the people I work with continue to improve

without reaching a plateau. I work with an individual who has a form

of ALS. Over the past 2 years his ALS has ceased to progress, and in

fact most of his symptoms have dissipated. This is what I expect to

see from the autistic children that I work with.

Finally, I believe that the incidence of autism would drop rather

than continuing to increase at such an alarming rate, given the

following simple parameters:

) Ongoing universal vaginal screening and treatment program for

maternal streptococcal infection. Streptococcus is routinely isolated

from vaginal cultures. This could represent an initial form of

exposure of this pathogen to the newborn. The recent practice of

screening pregnant woman for vaginal streptococci and treating at

delivery may help to reduce the incidence of autism if streptococcal

infection is in fact a predisposing condition as I suspect. While

this would not entirely eliminate the problem, as many infants

contract streptococcal infections through the respiratory route of

transmission, it would certainly help to reduce the incidence of

underlying streptococcal infection.

) Parents should wait to vaccinate any child until they are

thoroughly clear of any evidence of streptococcal infection, ear

infections and off antibiotics for at least a week to be certain of

no relapses. From my own personal experience this may mean postponing

vaccines month after month if your child has been sick. Two out of

three of my daughters had what seemed to be one constant ear

infection for the first nine months of their lives. They were winter

babies, and this may have contributed to the problem. Much to the

chagrin of the pediatrician we continued to postpone vaccinations. It

finally reached the point where I would send my husband to the doctor

with the girls; I was tired of getting the lecture and exasperated

looks upon postponing vaccines for yet another month. This brings up

another point. Pediatricians need to be made aware and to be

sensitive to fact that this is a very serious issue. It would be

helpful if doctors did not use their influence to suggest that

children receive vaccines if they are only " a little sick " , or still

taking antibiotics. Under these circumstances I know that I felt

pressured to vaccinate my children by our pediatrician.

) Parents should be aware of predisposing conditions in addition to

streptococcal infections that may make a child more susceptible to

autism. These conditions can include any type of recent or chronic

infection of the child, recent use of tylenol (severely depletes

glutathione), family history of liver disease or alcoholism,

intolerance to diary or wheat products, asthma, heavy metal levels of

the mother, and underlying chronic viral infections of the mother,

among others. I also believe there may be a relationship between

adult vaccination of the mother and autism in the child. This is a

preliminary observation, but worth mentioning. Many of the mothers of

the autistic children that I work with are either teachers, nurses,

work in a hospital or hold a job that required vaccination. Other

mothers received passive immunization through direct viral exposure

following vaccination and active viral infection from siblings. This

may be an additional predisposing factor for autism. Certainly every

teacher, nurse, hospital worker, or doctor does not have an autistic

child so this is not a direct correlation. Perhaps a more delayed

vaccination schedule and greater caution should be exercised when

vaccinating children whose mother received vaccinations, or

significant viral exposure as an adult.

) Finally, I think a lot of heartache could be avoided if changes

were made in the timetable for required vaccines. The immune system

of a young child is trying to determine " what's me " and " what's not

me " . In immunology lingo this is part of the development of self-

tolerance. I personally believe that if we vaccinate children too

young, we interfere with this delicate process of developing

tolerance and run the risk of a whole host of immunological problems,

now or later in life. Years ago, when I was involved in the

development of the Haemophilus influenza vaccine, I clearly remember

the difficulties we encountered with early versions of the vaccine.

It appeared that the vaccine was not immunogenic in children under

two, which was precisely the population one desired to protect. It

was not until the HIB vaccine was given simultaneously with other

vaccines that the immune system responded. I left the vaccine program

at that time, as I had questions about the direction of the project.

As a result I do not know if it simply was not a strong enough

immunogen or if we needed to trick the immune system in order for it

to respond. Regardless, based on this experience, my personal opinion

is that one waits to vaccinate with the MMR until the immune system

has a chance to become more mature; certainly no sooner than the age

of two.

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